An order book comprises different key information regarding an asset.
An order book comprises different key information regarding an asset. First, it has dedicated sections for buyers and sellers. Next, there is a bid and ask section. Here, “asks” represent sell requests while “bids” indicate buy orders.
Bids are placed on the left while asks occupy the right side of the book. Both sides have buy and sell prices from various traders. Bids are usually represented by a green color while asks are colored red.
Tables, line charts, bar charts and other visualization methods display the interaction between buyers and sellers. Also, Japanese candlesticks charting accompanies an order book to show the current and past status of the market and to help traders make informed trading decisions. In most cases, order books only contain orders set to be fulfilled using a trader’s specific prices.
These types of orders are known as limit orders. Orders placed to be fulfilled using the current market prices are called market orders. The highest bid prices and lowest ask prices appear at the top of the order book. The difference between these two prices is referred to as the bid-ask spread. It indicates the supply and demand strength.